New Republic of Dave
The New Republic of Dave (often abbreviated to NRD) is a small "democratic" nation based in the northeast area of the Capital Wasteland. The capital is located in the pre-war ruins of the city of Old Olney, now renamed Dave City. Within the nation territories there are also a military base, Fort Dave, two farms, two power stations, a trading post and a propagandistic radio tower. The Republic emphasizes and claims to support a myriad of old world values, such as democracy, personal liberty, and the rule of law. It also strives to restore general order to the wasteland, the improvement and development of infrastructure and economic systems, but only if all of this will be under the leadership of the President. Though appearing to be a benevolent entity of governance, thanks to political propaganda, the Republic is a "republic" in name only and the democracy that says to bring is just a facade to make people believe that it is a modern and politically mature country, interested in the views of its citizens. The only democratic thing in this country is the possibility to elect a new president every four years, but in most cases it is just a formality, because Dave always wins, through bribery, blackmail and heavy propaganda campaigns. Currently the New Republic of Dave is a vassal state of the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel, with a little degree of independence. History Beginning The series of events that gave birth to the New Republic of Dave commenced even before the outbreak of the terrible Great War, the nuclear conflict that ended the world as we know it, more than two hundred years ago. It all started in 2077 with Paul Harlan, an illiterate and not very smart wheat farmer who worked in the plantations of the Chaste Acres Dairy Farm, close to the city of Washington DC. Paul, after getting tired of paying taxes to the state, which had became increasingly demanding because of the increasing military spending for the annexation of Canada and the liberation of Alaska, decided unilaterally to proclaim a tiny plot of land close to his farm an independent nation under his command, free from all the original rules and laws of the United States, in order to not pay the taxes anymore. In a normal situation such a foolish attempt would inevitably proved to be a big failure, but that wasn't a normal situation, because the very next day was October 23, 2077, the start and end of the Great War, caused by the fall of countless nuclear weapons on the United States. No one knows how Paul and his family managed to escape from the catastrophe, but many believe it is due to the great distance of his farm from the city of Washington DC, the closest most appetible target for a nuclear attack. Without a house to live, he decided to build a new one and to keeping true to his previous statement by building a home for his family in the same plot of land declared by himself independent nation. The new settlement was built with various scavenged materials taken from the Chaste Acres Dairy Farm and sustained by a small plantation cultivated by Paul with some surviving seeds. Thus was born the "State of Paul", first incarnation of the new nation built in the northeast area of the Capital Wasteland by the Harlan family. After the death of Paul, power passed to his eldest son, Larry Harlan, who immediately reorganized the nation as a hereditary absolute monarchy under his command: “The Kingdom of Larry”. At the end of Larry's rule, his second son, Stevie-Ray Harlan, was chosen as his successor because of the premature death of the first son by radiation poisoning. Stevie-Ray was the first to establish democracy in the new nation, with the birth of the "Republic of Stevie-Ray". Still today he is idolized by the people of the New Republic of Dave as "Stevie-Ray the Forerunner" because of his courage to be the first leader of the nation to share his power with the people and give them the possibility to elect their leader. In the last period of his life, his eldest son, Billy, managed to beat his father and win elections for president. This event marked the beginning of one of the darkest chapters of the nation, because in truth Billy Harlan was a cannibal, a feature caused by a particular congenital mutation of unknown nature. The country was renamed "Billsylvania" and the citizens were forced against their will to become death-worshipping fanatics and man-eaters. It was during this period that Stevie-Ray, son of Billy, named as his grandfather, gave start to a civil war to dethrone his father and restore the republic. The war was won by the rebels and so was born the "New Republic of Stevie-Ray", an ideological continuation of the first republic of Stevie-Ray and further promoter of democracy. After several years, Stevie-Ray was defeated in the elections by his son Tom Harlan through bribery, blackmail and heavy propaganda campaigns. This marked the beginning of the "Kingdom of Tom", a return to the old absolute monarchy introduced by his ancestor Larry. It was in this environment of cruel oppression that in the year 2230 the future president Dave was born. The birth of the legend Dave was the eldest son of Tom and his chosen heir, but Tom's obsessive fear of being betrayed forced him to banish his son, fearing that he wanted to use his charisma to instigate a civil war against him. Just because Dave was previously destined to become the new ruler, he had grown up in the settlement while dreaming of future success and power, an experience that made him arrogant and conceited. Subsequently his arrogance was slightly mitigated by the humiliation suffered by his banishment, but his interest for the throne of his country was also turned into an unquenchable, burning desire. The actual historians of the New Republic of Dave report in the authorized history school books that Dave's anger and desire for power were derived from his will to prevent that other citizens of the nation may suffer that same unjust treatment by the king, but probably the truth was that Dave just wanted to take revenge on his father by dethroning him and taking his place. Dave started to roam in the Capital Wasteland and to work as a mercenary, relic hunter and courier for many different people and organizations of DC, in order to get enough caps to buy armor and weapons powerful enough to return home, get rid of all those who dare to obstruct his passage and kill his father. His final and biggest work was for Allistair Tenpenny, a rich and distasteful 80-year-old englishman interested in the recovery of a rare pre-war weapon from the dangerous ruins of Fort Constantine, a pre-war launch facility of the U.S. Army heavily guarded by many still-functioning military robots. He worked together with four other mercenaries: Mister Crowley, Dukov, Jeff Strayer, and Tara Fields. It is unknown what weapon Tenpenny was after, but almost all the mercs completed the mission goals and were paid, even if in the bunker Tara was killed by a group of feral ghouls and Crowley was locked in the same room and left to an unknown destiny (it was because of this mission that Dave starts to hate the ghouls, a defining element that will characterize his way to lead the country in the future). After he got enough caps and weapons, he returned home, ready to take with force his rightful place as ruler of the country from the greedy hands of his old father. Dave, ready to commit a slaughter, if need be, shouted his challenge to Tom from the gates of the settlement. The king, now driven mad by his paranoia and suspects that everyone around him is plotting to kill him and take his place on the throne of the kingdom, attacked his son as a ferocious, mindless beast, without self-preservation instincts or any kind of plan to overwhelm his opponent but guided only by a blind will to annihilation. Life in the Wasteland Rise of the New Republic The years under Dave's rule Society The majority of the population of the Republic is made up of farmers, travelling merchants, mercenaries and poor settlers seeking protection from the dangers of the post-apocalyptic world and independence from the ever-growing influence of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Capital Wasteland. In exchange for their protection, the Republic classes them as a 'citizen' and collects taxes from them which is mostly used on the military to arm, train, and supply their troops. Also the Ghouls can obtain citizenship, but are considered second-class citizens and, if they want to live in the capital, they are authorized to settle only in the sewers and in Old Olney underground. The non-citizen ghouls that commit even the littlest crime, by order of the president, are killed on sight. The Republic enforces strict rules upon their citizens and in their settlements: crimes across their territories are typically punished by death. Carrying arms without authorization and slavery are not permitted within city limits, even if prostitution and gambling are still legal. Persons found under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be arrested. There is a clear separation of church and state within the Republic. The president Dave found that politics and religion shouldn't mix, a realization that was cemented when they received visits from a few extremely annoying members of the Church of the Children of Atom. As long as there is no interaction between church and government, the NRD allows any non-radical religious groups within their borders. Accordingly, the NRD are very tolerant of religion as long as its various assemblies don't participate in human sacrifice or try to expose people to mutagenic substances, like the FEV. A feature that has made famous the Republic in the rest of the Capital Wasteland is the peculiarity of its marital laws, in particular about the fact that for all the NRD citizens the polygyny is legal. Dave, with the excuse that he needed to re-populate the Wasteland so that the nation could grow and soon own many lands, wrote the Republic's marital laws in order to allow to all male citizens to marry more than one wife. The best known example of this politic is Dave himself, who married six wives and sired twenty-six children. An important feature of the New Republic of Dave is also the cult of personality built around the figure of Dave. Dave, as founder of the country and de facto president-for-life, is depicted as a messianic figure in the propaganda, capable to do the impossible and win every enemy. This cult has been created by Dave himself and fueled by his extended family, almost all members of the original population of the old Republic of Dave. In the school of the capital are told to children all the "heroic" adventures of the President Dave in the Wasteland in a deliberately exaggerated way and the museum of the Republic hosts exclusively a collection of Dave "artifacts", like the copies of the "Ol' Painless" hunting rifle and a working Prototype medic power armor. Structure Even if NRD sustains to be a democratic nation, it is actually more like an elective monarchy. In the NRD the ruler of the nation, the President, is elected every four years by all the adult citizens of the Republic. A citizen of the Republic can be considered eligible for the position of President only if he is able to read and write and if he has served in the NRD Army for at least a year. The legislative, executive and judicial power is all in the hands of the President, even if restricted by the constitution (the constitution was written by Dave himself more as a guideline for his successors than a real limitation to his power). Political Parties Even in a small country as the New Republic of Dave there are some political parties that influence the society with policies and programmes for the collective good. These groups are the main contestants in all the elections for the new president, but until now none of them managed to beat Dave. Independentist Party The Independentist Party fights for the independence of the New Republic of Dave from the Brotherhood of Steel, but they want to achieve this goal peacefully, by renegotiating the terms of the NRD Treaty with the Brotherhood and reach a mutually beneficial arrangement. Officially, the vice president Rosie Harlan is part of this party. Action Party The Action Party is a splinter faction of the Independentist Party that wants to achieve the independence of the New Republic of Dave from the Brotherhood of Steel with a military action. They see Dave as a leader too benevolent to get his hands dirty and do what needs to be done for the benefit and growth of the nation. Some believe that the members of this party are in contact with the imprisoned son of Dave, Bob Harlan, while others say that he is actually the real leader of the movement and he is guiding them through the use of secret letters. Integration Party The Integration Party is the natural enemy of the Independentist and Action Parties. The people who follow this party believe that only by tightening even closer relations with the Brotherhood of Steel the nation will be able to ensure prosperity for all. Strangely, the mob boss Climaco Ashdown, leader of the criminal underworld of Dave City, has joined the ranks of this party, maybe because he thinks that in this way he will be able to expand his businesses also within the Brotherhood's organization. Ghoul Emancipationist Party The Ghoul Emancipationist Party works so that Ghoul citizens could have the same rights of the humans in the Republic and stop living underground. The movement is guided by Thomas Puckett, a ghoul worker of the interred power station of Dave City and relentless civil rights activist at the head of the ghoul community. Military The military's organization is inspired by the pre-war American structure, although adapted to the much smaller population of the Republic. The NRD's military is composed of several Divisions, including marksmen, scouts, heavy infantry and a sole Vertibird used as air force. In addition, the capital city of the Republic, Dave City, is protected and patrolled by heavily armed police officers. The bulk of the army is composed of troopers, lightly trained volunteers and conscripts that are used for offensive and defensive missions. Their relatively large numbers mean the troopers utilize mass produced equipment made from durable materials that perform reliably and can survive harsh treatment. All the army weapons are provided by the Dave State Arms company, who handle a majority of the weapons contracts of the army. Uniforms for troopers is standardized repainted combat armor, supplied by Crow's Caravan Company. Despite the modest training and equipment the troopers receive, it is superior to equipment employed by most adversaries of the NRD, namely raiders or nomadic tribes. The Heavy Infantry Corps are much better trained and equipped than the standard troopers, and while they are still technically part of the Army, they are under personal supervision by the knights of the Brotherhood of Steel. They are equipped with NRD salvaged power armor, suits of scavenged T-45d power armor from the clashes between the Brotherhood squads and Bob Harlan's forces, giving them superior protection than the standard soldiers. They carry heavy weaponry, such as the high-capacity light machine guns, ranged flame-throwers called Heavy Incinerators, and occasionally missile launchers. After a fight against a splinter faction of the Enclave remnants, the Republic has managed to get hold of a vertibird, now used for special missions or as the president's personal vehicle. Officially, the vertibird is owned by the Brotherhood of Steel to perform aerial reconnaissance, in search of Enclave activity in remote regions of the Capital Wasteland, but, because of the growing interest of the Brotherhood for the Commonwealth and the menace of the Institute, the Republic started to make much more use of it than the Brotherhood troops. The vertibird, now renamed "Dave Force One", shows on the fuselage the colors and insigna of the New Republic of Dave, instead of those of the Brotherhood. To compensate for their limited numbers, the NRD have supplemented its forces with a number of reprogrammed robobrains, sentry bots, and protectrons, all adorned with the Republic's colors. Relations with the outside Many people in the Capital Wasteland have mixed feelings about the New Republic of Dave. A few people strongly support the Republic's goals of spreading the values of democracy and order, but, because of their heavy propagandistic methods, others vehemently oppose to their incessant attempts of "controlling" or "converting" everything and everyone they come into contact with. With the sudden formation of a nation from nothing and conquest of a relatively large portion of territory with little effort, many enemies started to progressively test the resolve of the Republic. With the downfall of the supermutant menace in the Capital Wasteland and the liberation of the ruins of Washington DC by the hand of the Brotherhood of Steel, the raiders started to migrate elsewhere, directly against many far and isolated settlements like those of the Republic. Known wars and military conflicts which the New Republic of Dave was involved: * NRD-Brotherhood war * NRD-Enclave War * NRD-Raiders War Technology Because of the "NRD Treaty" signed at the end of the open hostilities between the Republic and the Brotherhood of Steel, the NRD is authorized to possess only the most common and widespread technologies of the Capital Wasteland and they are forced to give to the Brotherhood all the advanced technologies that are recovered by them from the Wasteland. The NRD has access to stockpiles of pre-War technology. Standard NRD troops are equipped with many types of projectile-based weapons, like assault rifles and submachine guns, along with standard pre-War combat armor, repainted to be green and white. All energy weapons, according to the NRD Treaty, are declared illegal in the Republic and can't be used by both soldiers and civilians, even if president Dave has a hidden stockpile of AER9 laser rifles and urban plasma rifles in the basement of his Capitol building. The NRD possesses Salvaged power armors acquired from previous clashes between Bob Harlan's troops and the Brotherhood, but lack the training to use them. Instead, the servos in the joints are stripped out and an air-conditioning unit is installed in place of the power core, turning it into extremely heavy, but effective, armor. According to the Treaty, all unmodified armors have been returned to the Brotherhood, while the modified ones can be used only by NRD heavy troopers under the supervision of Brotherhood's Knights. Must also be noted the existence of the so-called "Project Zhu-Rong", a secret military project ideated to reach a technological level advanced enough to get rid of the oppressive dominion of the Brotherhood of Steel and obtain full independence. In the sewers of Dave City, the scientists of the Republic are working tirelessly to develop a way to reverse engineering a particular pre-war prototype weapon recovered from the ruins of the L.O.B. Enterprises at Washington DC, the Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese pistol, and mass produce it for the NRD army. The peculiarity of this prototype pistol is the incendiary effect of each of his shots, even without the need of incendiary ammunition. After years of study and experimentation, the scientists have been able to partially unlock the secrets of this technology and replicate it on other types of weapons. The best example of these results is the Zhulong assault rifle, a unique chinese assault rifle with incendiary effect, now used by police chief Joseph Hartigan. Any other examples of pre-war technology present in the Republic, like terminals and auto-docs Mark III, were obtained after several expeditions to the nearby Vault 92. Criminality Initially in the republic, thanks to the ruthless help of the police of Dave City, guided by the former mercenary of the Talon Company Joseph Hartigan, crime was nonexistent, mainly because the criminals were limited only to commit inaccurate thefts and homicides, all easily provable and punishable crimes. All changed with the arrival of Climaco Ashdown, also known as the "Repo Man", a mob boss originally from "The Block", a little New Vegas-like settlement located in the ruins of Baltimore, interested to move his criminal syndicate in the newborn Republic of Dave and expand his businesses in the Capital Wasteland. With the inauguration of his strip club and headquarters, "The Purgatory", he laid the foundation for the creation of the red-light district of Dave City and the criminal underworld in the Republic. Currently the businesses of Ashdown's gang are prostitution, drug dealing and usury. Settlements The only city worthy of this name in the Republic's territories is the capital, Dave City, formerly known as Old Olney. Originally this place was a decaying and derelict town in the Capital Wasteland, inhabited only by vicious deathclaws. After the cleansing operation performed by Dave's mercenary group, was founded the New Republic of Dave and it was started the process of rebuilding the pre-war infrastructure and the defensive fortifications. Today the old buildings of the city have been repurposed to meet the needs of the new residents. Thanks to these pre-existent buildings in Dave City now there are a Capitol Building, a hospital (Dave City Hospital Center), a public trading center, an armory, a vertibird hangar, an embassy of the Brotherhood of Steel, an hotel for the wandering merchants, tourists and refugees, an underground power station, a strip club (The Purgatory) and a brothel (House of Requited Affection). There is also a residential area, constructed in a large parking lot at north with the use of various scavenged materials, primarily the scraps of old pre-War cars salvaged from the Scrapyard, assembled and reforged together to form many common and private houses. Outside of the capital there are two farming settlements: the Harlan Family Farm, formerly known as the Chaste Acres Daily Farm, and Daveland Village. Daveland Village was the original settlement of the first Republic of Dave, before his self-imposed exile from his family. Both these settlements cultivate Punga plants and breed brahmins. In the southernmost region of the NRD territories there is a military fort called Fort Dave. Previously this building was known as the "Temple of the Union", a small compound of slaves escaped from Paradise Falls who wanted to create a haven to protect and inspire all runaway slaves. The building was abandoned by the slaves, after their leader, Hannibal Hamlin, had decided to transfer their entire community in the Lincoln Memorial and so the forces of the Republic decided to take possession of it and repurpose it as a military base and armory, mainly used to warn Dave City's people in the case of attack of the raiders from Washington DC. Fort Dave, Harlan Family Farm and Daveland Village are alimented by the MDPL-16 power station with the use of several modified power pylons. There is an additional trading center, outside the city walls, constructed by the remains of a restaurant of the pre-war chain of diners "Dot's Diner". This trading center is used by the Republic to trade with individuals considered too dangerous to be accepted within the city, like mercenaries or traders associated with the raiders. Near this trading center there is the Relay tower KX-B8-11, home to the propagandistic pro-Dave radio broadcast "Free Republic Radio", or simply FRR, hosted by James Doe, a big supporter of Dave's leadership, and broadcasted to all the territories under the control of the Republic. Vehicles Because of the relative isolation of the Republic and the great distances that the NRD merchants must cover to reach the closest settlements, the president Dave had to find an alternative way to speed up the movement of the caravans. The solution was given by one of his scientists, Philip Higgins, an expert of genetic manipulation which induced a controlled mutation on a pregnant mole rat. The result was a new generation of stronger and milder mole rats, capable to be used as mounts for the merchants. Today this new kind of mole rats is become the iconic element of all the merchants affiliated with the New Republic of Dave. Notable Inhabitants * Dave Harlan - Founder, de facto president-for-life and Supreme Commander of the New Republic of Dave. * Rosie Harlan – First wife of Dave and vice president of the New Republic of Dave. * Jessica Harlan - Second wife of Dave and aspirant to the post of vice president. * Natalie Harlan - Third wife of Dave and Head of Treasury of the Republic. * Annette Harlan - Fourth wife of Dave and responsible for the reconstruction and modernization of Dave City. * Sofia Harlan - Fifth wife of Dave and owner of the Dave State Arms company, a successful weapons shop in the commercial district of Dave City who also handle a majority of the weapons contracts of the NRD army. * Ashley Harlan - Sixth wife of Dave, water merchant and owner of a caravan company. * Bob Harlan - Dave's eldest son and former Army Chief of the old Republic of Dave. Currently he is in prison for treason against the New Republic. * Shawna Harlan - Dave's eldest daughter, principal of the School of Dave and curator of the Museum of Dave. * Ralph Harlan – Son of Dave and ambassador to Canterbury Commons for the New Republic of Dave. After the incarceration of Bob, he is considered by many to be Dave's heir. * Janet Harlan - First wife of Ralph Harlan, former tribal of Point Lookout and responsible of the cultivation of Punga plants to the Daveland farming settlement. * Joseph Hartigan - Former mercenary of the Talon Company and current Police Chief of Dave City. * Mary Harlan/Hartigan – Dave’s daughter and battered first wife of Joseph Hartigan. * James Doe - Radio host of Free Republic Radio. * Lewis Hanson - Scribe and representative of the Brotherhood of Steel to the New Republic of Dave. He lives in the embassy building of Dave City. * Climaco 'Repo Man' Ashdown - Mob boss who runs all the criminal underwold of the New Republic of Dave from his headquarters in “The Purgatory", a nightclub he owned in Dave City. * Philip Higgins - A scientist expert of genetic manipulation became famous for the creation of the mole rat mounts and the "Abomination". * Thomas Puckett - A ghoul that lives in Dave City underground, together with the rest of the ghoul community. He's at the head of a movement for the rights of the ghouls in the Republic. * Two dozens of other Dave's children. Category:Faction